The Warriors' quest for a third championship in four years resumes Saturday when they host the Pelicans in Game 1 of their second-round NBA Playoff series at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Golden State opened as a 7.5-point favorite and is now laying 9. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, opened at 222.5, but has inched up to 224.
Before picking either side, you need to see what SportsLine NBA expert Galin Dragiev has to say. Dragiev, a veteran handicapper, has been SportsLine's most profitable analyst during the regular season, netting $100 bettors nearly $2,000 in profit.
His success has continued into the NBA Playoffs 2018. Dragiev nailed the opening game of Warriors-Spurs, telling SportsLine readers to back the Under. He pointed out that the Spurs utilized a slow tempo and the Warriors would tone down their pace without Stephen Curry. The result: the under cashed with 205 total points scored, another win for Dragiev.
Dragiev, who has a strong analytical background, has now examined every matchup, every player and every trend for New Orleans vs. Golden State in Game 1 and locked in his pick.
He knows the Pelicans can cover the spread, or win outright, if they don't allow the raucous Warriors fans to become a sixth man. New Orleans showed tremendous poise deflating Portland's crowd with disciplined play in its first-round series.
The Warriors can cover the spread by keying defensively on the one player who can singlehandedly steal a game from them: Anthony Davis. The phenomenal forward is averaging 33 points in the postseason on 55 percent shooting.
In the end, Dragiev says a key matchup determines which side of the spread hits hard. He's sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.
So which side of Pelicans-Warriors do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick by Dragiev, who has netted $100 bettors nearly $2,000 in profit.
